Cotton

Cotton is a natural fibre grown as a plant in various parts of the world. The best from Egypt and the most organic from Turkey and Peru. The cotton fibre comes in a boule that surrounds the seed. The length of the fibre is known as the staple and is about 3cm long and about 4cm in Egyptian cotton. The fibre has a natural twist, ideal for spinning and weaving.

The fibre is spun into a fine yarn that can vary in thickness depending on the quality of the fibre.

Often two yarns are twisted together - two-fold cotton.

After spinning, the yarn can be woven, and the variations that are produced are countless. Different looms and different techniques in both weaving and finishing are myriad.

The quality of cotton is measured by the yarn count - this is the number of hanks to the Ib (Ib= 45kg)

A hank is traditionally 840 yards long (770 metres) - the more hanks to the pound the better the quality.  40’s count = 40 hanks to the pound, 80’s count= 80 hanks to the pound and so on. The more yarns per square inches increases the density of the fabric. Two yarns together (two fold) weighed under the same system produce a much higher quality.